Couch potatoes need not apply: Voyage offers high-seas classroom

Thursday

In January, Sea Education Association will set sail among the islands of French Polynesia and the trip promises to be anything but boring.

In January, Sea Education Association will set sail among the islands of French Polynesia and the trip promises to be anything but boring.

In fact, it promises to be Bora Bora.

But the two dozen souls who sign on for the voyage won’t be taking a cruise in the shuffleboard, karaoke, all-you-can-eat buffet sense. No, they’ll be crewmembers, manning watches and setting sails aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans, a 134-foot brigantine and one of SEA’s research ships.

And they’ll also be students, working alongside the ship’s scientific staff to take measurements, deploy instruments and review data as it comes in.

“It’s really about as hands-on as it can be,” says Dr. Jan Witting, an oceanographer who teaches Ocean and Climate at SEA and worked with Stern to create SEA Expedition, an adult education experience which focuses on sailing, science and the cultures of the islands.

John Bullard, SEA’s president, says the Woods Hole-based non-profit has made a name for itself as the only organization in the United States that offers deep-sea research experience to undergraduate students aboard a sailing vessel. With SEA Expedition, he says, the idea is to bring that same experience to adults.

“This was our first attempt to say, ‘After you get out of formal education, you shouldn’t stop learning,’” says Bullard.

The research voyage will begin in Papeete Harbor on the island of Tahiti. For eight sailing days, the ship will visit such islands as Raitea, Maupiti, Bora Bora and Huahine. There will be a few guest lecturers, a nature walk and a trip to archaeological sites but, for the most part, the students’ own interests will drive the curriculum.

“They will very tenaciously follow their curiosity,” says Witting of the adult students, some of whom have been known to seek answers to questions during the starry quiet of a night watch.

According to Bullard, last year’s crew of adults came from varied backgrounds but had one trait in common: a desire to roll up their sleeves and participate.

“If you’re a couch potato, this is not for you,” says Bullard. “Unless, of course, you want to change that life.”

Swampscott’s Allie Blodgett may not have wanted to change her life but she did want to add to it. Blodgett, in her 70’s, wanted to share a great experience with her daughter, Amy, who lives in California. She did that, even though she now admits that her first emotion as she stood on the dock at Papeete Harbor was fear.

“I was scared to death, for the both of us,” says Blodgett. “However, it was the most wonderful thing we’ve ever done, in part because we did it together.”

When asked for her most memorable experience, Blodgett recalls three or four at a moment’s notice.

“Pulling up the mainsail took 15 of us,” says Blodgett, adding: “It was just magnificent to look up and see all those sails.”

She proudly recounts the day her daughter and the ship’s head scientist stood atop the mast of the ship as it sailed into the port at Moorea. Not to be undone, the elder Blodgett climbed the mast the next day, though she didn’t go quite as far.

The septuagenarian also recalls the pride she felt after successfully manning the watch, setting the sails and even scrubbing the floor on her hands and knees.

“It’s hot and the accommodations are Spartan but, whatever it is, it’s the most important thing I’ve ever done,” she says.

For Lawrence Killingsworth of Spokane, Wash., memories include South Pacific sunsets, the “upside-down Big Dipper” and snorkeling in Rangiroa Lagoon with an eight-foot Moray Eel named Crazy Hugo that would snatch bits of food from the hand of a swim guide.

Killingsworth raves about the professionalism of the ship’s crew and the variety of ship cuisine but is tongue-in-cheek when it comes to living conditions.

“Picture below-decks in ‘Master and Commander’ but with fewer cannons,” says Killingsworth.

The memories of Blodgett and Killingsworth are echoed in Witting’s remark that his chief regret from the first voyage was ending it after crewmembers had become so close.

The 10-day trip features eight sailing days sandwiched by two nights in Tahiti. Participants are responsible for getting to and from the island and must have valid passports.

The trip’s cost is two installments of $1,675. The all-inclusive fee includes bunk and board during the voyage, two hotel nights, three extra on-shore dinners, guided nature walks, lectures and ground transport to and from the Papeete dock and the hotel.

For more information, call 1-800-552-3633, ext. 770 or visit www.sea.edu/academics/adultprograms.asp.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.